Integration of social identities in the self: toward a cognitive-developmental model.

This article presents a model of social identity development and integration in the self. Classic intergroup theories (e.g., social identity theory, self-categorization theory) address the situational, short-term changes in social identities. Although these theories identify the contextual and environmental factors that explain situational changes in social identification, the intraindividual processes underlying developmental changes in social identities and their integration within the self remain to be identified. Relying on recent intergroup models as well as on developmental (i.e., neo-Piagetian) and social cognitive frameworks, this article proposes a four-stage model that explains the specific processes by which multiple social identities develop intraindividually and become integrated within the self over time. The factors that facilitate versus impede these identity change processes and the consequences associated with social identity integration are also presented.     

The Ethics of NIMBY Conflicts

NIMBY (Not In My Backyard) refers to an oppositional attitude from local residents against some risk generating facility that they have been chosen to host either by government or industry. The attitude is claimed to be characteristic of someone who is positive to a facility but who wants someone else to be its host. Since siting cannot be provided if everyone has this attitude, society ends up in a worse situation. The attitude is claimed to be egoistic and irrational. Here it is argued that the NIMBY critique rests on questionable assumptions about the rightness of weighing total benefit against total cost. This weighing-principle will sometimes have to yield so that the rights of individuals can be acknowledged.

Ocular motor indicators of executive dysfunction in fragile X and Turner syndromes

Fragile X and Turner syndromes are two X-chromosome-related disorders associated with executive function and visual spatial deficits. In the present study, we used ocular motor paradigms to examine evidence that disruption to different neurological pathways underlies these deficits. We tested 17 females with fragile X, 19 females with Turner syndrome, and 40 females with neither disorder who comprised the comparison group. Group differences emerged for both the fragile X and Turner syndrome groups, each relative to the comparison group: Females with fragile X had deficits in generating memory-guided saccades, predictive saccades, and saccades made in the overlap condition of a gap/overlap task. Females with Turner syndrome showed deficits in generating memory-guided saccades, but not during either the predictive saccade or gap/overlap task. Females with Turner syndrome, but not females with fragile X, showed deficits in visually guided saccades and anti-saccades. These findings indicate that different brain regions are affected in the two disorders, and suggest that different pathways lead to the similar cognitive phenotypes described for fragile X and Turner syndromes.     

Self‐determination theory,social media and charitable causes: An in‐depth analysis of autonomous motivation

Using the framework of the self‐determination theory continuum, we investigated the influence of the distinct autonomous and controlled motivational regulations for engaging participants in online and offline support of charitable events for the causes of breast cancer and homeless youth. Participants were exposed online to Facebook event pages appealing to helping others. When the often omitted integrated autonomous regulation was included in the model, it was the strongest predictor of supportive intentions. Without integrated regulation in the model, we would have overestimated the relatively minor influence of controlled introjected regulation. Furthermore, rather than one overall measure of autonomous intrinsic regulation, we assessed the differential influences of three separate dimensions (to experience stimulation, to learn and to accomplish). Intrinsic motivation to experience stimulation had a unique influence on online and offline supportive intentions. Such was not the case for the dimensions of to learn or to accomplish. Follow‐up meditation analyses of self‐reported behaviours confirmed that autonomous integrated and intrinsic to experience stimulation regulations led to stronger intentions to support online behaviours, which, in turn, increased the likelihood of actual online engagement. The findings in a social media context highlight the importance of analysing distinct regulatory styles within the self‐determination theory continuum. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personality Predicts Obedience in a Milgram Paradigm

This study investigates how obedience in a Milgram‐like experiment is predicted by interindividual differences. Participants were 35 males and 31 females aged 26–54 from the general population who were contacted by phone 8 months after their participation in a study transposing Milgram's obedience paradigm to the context of a fake television game show. Interviews were presented as opinion polls with no stated ties to the earlier experiment. Personality was assessed by the Big Five Mini‐Markers questionnaire (Saucier, 1994). Political orientation and social activism were also measured. Results confirmed hypotheses that Conscientiousness and Agreeableness would be associated with willingness to administer higher‐intensity electric shocks to a victim. Political orientation and social activism were also related to obedience. Our results provide empirical evidence suggesting that individual differences in personality and political variables matter in the explanation of obedience to authority.     

Regulatory Fit in Self-Enhancement and Self-Protection: Implications for Life Satisfaction in the West and the East

This online study examined whether regulatory focus and culture moderate the links between self-enhancement/self-protection and life satisfaction. The study assessed promotion and prevention foci, manipulated self-enhancement or self-protection, and measured self-reported life satisfaction in both Western participants (127 English-speaking individuals; 73 female, 50 male, 4 unspecified; M _age = 29.01, SD _age = 10.26) and Chinese participants (141 Zhanjiang Normal University members; 88 females, 53 males; M _age = 22.18, SD _age = 3.14). Promotion-focused individuals experienced higher life satisfaction when engaging in self-enhancement strivings, whereas prevention-focused individuals experienced equal levels of life satisfaction when engaging in self-protection strivings, in both Western and Chinese participants. Furthermore, Western participants manifested higher levels of life satisfaction when employing self-enhancement strivings independently of regulatory focus. On the other hand, Chinese participants experienced equivalent levels of life satisfaction when engaging in self-enhancement and self-protection strivings. The findings establish regulatory focus and culture as independent moderators of the association between self-enhancement/self-protection and life satisfaction.     

The Temporal Relations of PTSD Symptoms Among Treatment-Seeking Victims of Sexual Assault: A Longitudinal Study

This prospective study assessed the temporal relationships between the symptom clusters of PTSD in two nonprobability samples of treatment-seeking victims of sexual abuse: rape victims and adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse. Both groups were assessed at three time periods using self-report measures of PTSD symptomology. Findings from two cross-lagged panel analyses indicated weak temporal relationships between the symptom clusters of PTSD; however, avoidance and emotional numbing symptoms were found to exert the strongest cross-lagged effects. Avoidance and emotional numbing symptoms were also found to be the strongest predictor of subsequently meeting caseness for PTSD in both samples. Results suggest that there are minimal cross-lagged effects between the PTSD symptom clusters after three months from traumatic exposure.